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Poached Eggs Poached eggs not only are suitable for brunch, but with the right accompaniments, make a light and nutritious supper as well. If you keep in mind three basic pointers, poached eggs are not difficult to master. With fresh eggs, the right temperature water, and a little care in adding the eggs, you’ll have beautifully formed creations every time. Watch this demo to see all three key steps. Use the freshest eggs that you can find to keep the proper shape of the white intact. Very fresh eggs—like that kind that you get from your local farmer—cook up perfectly without anything added to the water. If your eggs are not farm-fresh, add a teaspoon salt and a couple of teaspoons vinegar to your pot of simmering water to help coagulate the egg whites. Have the water ready at a simmer. You don’t want the eggs to be torn apart by agitation, which is what faster boiling water will do. On the other hand, if the water is not hot enough, the eggs will not cook quickly enough and the whites of the eggs will spread. Gentle bubbles in the water are the cue that the temperature is correct. Break the eggs one at a time into a dish or small plate. Create a little whirlpool by swirling a spatula or spoon in the water. Then drop the eggs— one at a time— into the whirlpool. (You can also slide the eggs in along the sides of the pot.) Simmer 3 to 5 minutes, until the whites are coagulated but the yolks are still soft. Remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon or skimmer. Drain very well and serve. You can trim off any ragged edges if you like. If you want to make a large number of poached eggs but not serve them right away, immediately plunge the cooked ones into cold water. Reheat briefly in hot water right before serving. The classic here is eggs benedict, and yes, it is mighty tasty.  Classic Poached Eggs For a variation, try serving the eggs over a steamed artichoke and smoked salmon in lieu of the English muffin and bacon.  Poached Eggs over Artichokes and Smoked Salmon One delicious and light way to serve poached eggs is on a bed of wilted spinach and smoked salmon. I make a quick blender sauce of yogurt, avocado, cilantro, a bit of salt and a sprinkle of lime juice and ladle it over the top. It’s delicious and satisfying.
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Sumac Chicken When my photography teacher waxed enthusiastic about his favorite sumac chicken, I started thinking about how much I like the sour, astringent flavor that that the purple spice imparts to dishes. I am especially fond of the combination called za’atar, a mix of sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds, which is typically baked into Middle Eastern flat breads. I hadn’t cooked with sumac for a while, and the thought of making a delicious chicken with the spice was intriguing. My first version, which had sumac and salt rubbed in, over, and around the chicken was tasty, but not as tasty as I wanted. The flavor needed a bit more complexity. The next two versions were delicious. First I mixed fresh thyme, salt, sumac, minced garlic, and extra virgin olive oil into a paste. I butterflied open the chicken, then slipped the paste under the skin of the chicken I had bought at Union Square green market.  Butterfly the Chicken  Slipping the Paste Under the Skin I flipped the chicken and then brushed it with olive oil, and sprinkled it with more sumac, some dried thyme, and some garlic powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
 Sprinkling the Outside with Thyme, Sumac, Garlic Powder, Salt and Pepper I then transferred the chicken to the refrigerator to let the flavors seep into the meat. It’s great if you can make this dish a day in advance and let it marinate overnight. So far I’ve cooked the chicken two ways. The first time I just placed it on a rack and put it in a 400˚F oven for about 50 minutes until a thermometer in the thigh registered about 175˚F.
 Roasted at 400˚ The next time I set the chicken on a grill pan skin side down and put a weight on it. I used this nifty iron, but a cast iron skillet or anything weighty works just as well.  Press the Chicken to get Grill Marks I grilled it over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes until some serious browning appeared, and I then flipped the chicken and transferred it to a rack in a pan and placed it in a 350˚F. oven for another 40 minutes.  Grilled, then roasted It was delicious this way, even almost tasting as if it had been grilled outdoors. Of course you could grill it on an outdoor grill, but for me, in Manhattan, this was not a possibility. The bird was succulent, with bright zesty flavor. I served it with mujadarrah (rice and lentils with caramelized onions) and salad one time, and mujadarrah and roasted asparagus another.  With Mujadarrah and Salad Share on Facebook and Twitter | Dinner, ingredients, Main course | No comments
Eating for Radiant Skin: part 3 A Word about Fat: Fat is important for skin health. It’s a mistake to be on a low-fat or no-fat diet. You need fat in order to digest, transport, and absorb Vitamin A,D,E, and K. It’s soothing to the nervous system. Every cell in the body has a surrounding membrane – which is where communication between cells take place – that is made up of fat. You need an array of fats. You need saturated fats to maintain structure; mono and polyunsaturated fats to maintain elasticity. All fats and oils that we consume are made up of a combination of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fats. Polyunsaturated fats, also know as omega 3’s and 6’s, are the ones your body does not make. These are called essential fatty acids because you have to get them from food sources. Omega 3’s are good for countering inflammation in the body. Good sources for omega 3’s are fatty fish such as sardines, anchovies, tuna, and salmon; nuts, seeds, and organic eggs. Because of the standard American highly refined diet, most people have far too many Omega 6’s and not enough Omega 3’s. The ideal ratio is somewhere between 1 to 4 times as much omega 6’s as 3’s. Most Americans get 20 times more omega 6’s than 3’s. Poor quality oils and feed lot meat contribute to an excess of Omega 6 fatty acids in the body. It is easy to get good quality Omega 6’s from whole nuts and seeds, where they are less likely to be rancid. Refined polyunsaturated oils are unstable; they are exposed to high temperatures, chemical solvents, light and oxygen. The essential oils in them are destroyed, and they are rancid and oxidized. They suppress the immune system and cause inflamation. Eating a lot of polyunsaturated oil increases cholesterol in the tissues and cell membranes. The best fats for cooking, which can take the heat without becoming rancid or oxidized, are butter, ghee (clarified butter), olive oil, coconut oil, and sesame oil. To get a good supply of omega 3’s, I turn to the tinned fishes that I keep in my pantry. From these pantry staples I have developed nutritious, delicious meals that I can get on the table in minutes.  Wild Salmon, Mackerel, and Sardines from Vital Choice A couple of years ago I met the folks at Vital Choice when I was at the wise traditions conference. They had a lot of samples of their fish, including everything from the tinned mackerel, sardines, and salmon to the wild king salmon. They were by far the most delicious tinned fish I had ever tasted, and I was impressed with the flash frozen salmon as well. We were served smoked cod from them as a first course as well, another delicious fish they sell. I returned home from the conference with multiple tins of each pantry staple and I ordered a lot more stuff when I returned home. Now I make sure to keep a supply of the flash-frozen salmon as well in my freezer. (By the way, the Vital Choice catalogue is extensive, and among other products includes macadamia nut oil, dark chocolate, and a variety of different kinds of fish oil.) One of my super quick go-to lunches is either the mackerel (or sardines) mashed with avocado, lemon, and salt on a bed of greens. I eat it on a bed of greens. Here’s a quick video on how to make it: Here’s a composed salad made with the sardines:  Composed Sardine Salad Here’s a quick video on how to make it: Another quick dish that I make a lot is with the flash-frozen wild salmon.  Salmon in Dashi Here’s the video on how to make this: This last dish is made with the canned salmon and fresh salmon roe.  Salmon Frittata with Salmon Roe and Avocado Salmon roe is a nutritional powerhouse, loaded with anti inflammatory omega 3’s as well as Vitamin A and D. Here’s how to make it: Delicious, nutritious, fast, and easy!
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Eating for Radiant Skin: Part 2 Free radicals – we hear that word thrown around a lot – are electromagnetic unbalanced molecules that are internally generated in our bodies. They are created through the process of burning oxygen. Your own metabolism naturally does this, so you make your own free radicals just by living, breathing, and metabolizing. A free radical’s mission is to find an electron it can steal and make its own. Free radicals are produced as a byproduct of normal metabolism, so your body has ways of dealing with them. Inflammation in the body also causes free radicals. Exposure to toxicity produces free radicals. That includes too many environmental pollutants and radiation, including too much sun exposure. Sometimes you hear the term oxidative stress, because oxygen is initially involved in the process of free radical creation. Unfortunately, a victim of free radical damage is collagen, which keeps skin looking plump and elastic. The good news is that skin cells are always dying off and are being replaced by new cells. You do have the opportunity to improve your skin by enhancing your overall health, so that when you replace your old cells, your new cells will be healthy cells. (In a nutshell, that’s why when you start to eat better, your skin looks better as well.) Include foods that contain antioxidant nutrients. A diet rich in antioxidants helps you to have healthy, glowing skin. Antioxidants travel around the body and donate one of their electrons to each free radical that is seeking one. When they do this, the free radicals stop tissue damage. The best known antioxidants are Vitamins A and Betacarotene, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. Also, there are phytochemicals in plant foods. These are various plant chemicals that contain antioxidants, even though they’re not vitamins and minerals. Phytochemicals are protective against cancer and other degenerative diseases, and are related to pigments in fruits and vegetables. So that is why you often hear that’s it’s good to eat a rainbow of vegetables:  Steamed Carrot and Radish Salad  Rainbow of Roasting Vegetables
 Summer Antipasto Plate  Blueberry Smoothie
Orange: carrots, apricots, pumpkins, red: tomatoes and cherries, green: avocados, leafy greens, brown; nuts and seeds, blue: blueberries and blackberries. A lot of these not only contain phytochemicals but Vitamin A, C, and E as well. One example of a phytochemical is a flavonoid, which is found in the pulp of foods containing Vitamin C, which is WHY it is better to have food in the whole food source than in a juice. Foods with Vitamin A and Betacarotene:
By the way, food with too much beta-carotene can turn your skin orange, which is what happened to me in my youth. This is not a harmful condition, but it does indicate that one is not converting all of the beta-carotene to Vitamin A. Foods with Vitamin E:
Foods with Vitamin C:
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Eating for Radiant Skin: Part 1 I recently gave a lecture to some folks at Beauty Bank, a division of Estée Lauder, on eating for healthy skin. We then cooked a delicious luncheon that was rich in anti-oxidants and phytochemicals. Preparing the lecture got me thinking a lot about free radical damage and what contributes to good skin from the inside out. There’s so much to say about this, that I’ve divided it into three parts. Part one is simply the basics of a good diet. While individual components may vary, there are some general principles that are applicable to all. The Quality of Food Counts Eat whole foods rather than refined. Whole foods are the edible parts of foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Here’s a visual on whole foods:  Basket of Whole Foods Whole foods should be prepared in a way that retains enough nutritional value to be supportive of health. Beans and grains, for instance, should be soaked overnight (with juice of 1/2 lemon) to improve digestibility. Nuts should be soaked if possible. Whole foods can be puréed into a soup – it’s still whole – but a juice, although nutritious in some ways, is not a whole food. (More about this in part two.) Refined foods have been processed so that most of the nutrients have been stripped away. They are nutrient thieves; they rob your body of stored nutrients in order to make the energy it takes to digest them. Refined sugar is a prime example of this. Eat Real Food, Not Fake Heres’s an example: soy sauce, called shoyu (traditionally processed soy sauce) should just have in it soy, wheat, water and salt. It takes six months for it to ferment naturally and it’s a healthful condiment. The fake varieties have caramel coloring, all kinds of additives, and have been processed overnight. They are a bottle of flavored chemicals. That’s a fake food. Most real food has a short shelf life (there are, of course notable exceptions such as vinegars, sea vegetables, and other condiments.) Food is best fresh and harvested when ripe. If possible, go to grocery stores that buy local food, or better yet, frequent a farmers market to purchase seasonal food, which happens to be in harmony with nature. Seasonal food is the freshest, most cost effective, most organic, and most flavorful. Seasonal food helps your body adapt to changes in temperature. In winter it’s time for soups and stews, grains, and root vegetables. Spring has strawberries, asparagus, and leafy greens. These help clear waste that has accumulated over winter.  Spring Greens at Union Square Summer has a large variety of wet food, juicy fruits, lettuces, and summer squash that help our bodies stay hydrated and cope with hot weather. Buy organic when possible. Organic soil is replaced by a full spectrum of nutrients. The soil in conventional farming only has nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. This leaves me wondering what happened to the other sixty nutrients we aren’t getting. I do think local is most important when it comes to vegetables and fruits. While shopping at a green market, you have the opportunity to ask the farmer about his farming practices. He may not be certified organic, but he may be in practice, or he may spray only minimally, and he probably replenishes his soil. A good website is foodnews.org, which lists the dirty dozen produce that is most heavily sprayed as well as the cleanest fifteen fruits and vegetables that are the least sprayed. It’s important to note that GMO foods (conventional soy, corn – not the sweet corn-on-the-cob variety, and wheat) are engineered to withstand huge amounts of pesticides. So when you eat GMO foods, you are getting a pesticide load. The Most Important Foods to be High Quality: All animal foods fall into this category. Eggs, for instance provide 8 essential amino acids and they are nature’s perfect food (of course, if you’re allergic, it’s not YOUR perfect food. ) The yolk is the most nutritious part of the egg; the nutrient list reads like a multivitamin, so please, no egg white omelets! The best nutrient dense eggs are from pastured chickens, those that have been running around pecking in the ground along with their supplemental diet of feed.  Pastured Chickens  Pastured Egg with Bright Orange Yolk The best beef, chicken, lamb and dairy are from pastured animals that have been roaming around eating pasture. They should not be finished in feed lots. Grass fed really means grass finished. All animals start out on grass but a healthy animal finishes its life on grass as well. The nutrient profile in an animal that has been finished on grass is completely superior to those which have been feedlot and grain finished.  Cows from Blue Hill Fish should come from sustainable fisheries. Salt should have a good mineral content. Unrefined sea salt has 80 trace minerals in a form easily absorbed by the today. Use the right amount of good salt to make your foods burst with flavor and avoid processed food. Share on Facebook and Twitter | Health Tips | 2 comments
Mediterranean Catering I’ve been cooking a lot of Mediterranean food lately, for all kinds of events. This one featured dukkah-crusted stuffed medallions of chicken. I filled boneless breasts with caramelized onions and garlic-sautéed spinach, then coated the breasts with flour, egg, and dukkah. Dukkah is a combination of toasted pistachios, sesame seeds, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. (It’s a great mix to have on hand to jazz up a meal.) The breasts were sautéed, then finished in the oven for about 15 minutes.  Stuffed Chicken Breasts Coated with Dukkah I then sliced them with an electric saw to get these beautiful even cuts. Best thing about these breasts is that they stay tender, even when reheated the next day.  Sliced Stuffed Chicken
I also made Moroccan-braised short ribs. I had previously been making these with lamb shanks, but the short ribs worked as well. I salted, peppered, and browned the short ribs first, then sautéed sliced red onions until tender. I added some harissa, garlic, ginger, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, and cooked the spices for a couple of minutes. I then added a jar of roasted red peppers and some stock, brought the liquid to a boil, and then transferred the baking pan to the oven. The dish braised at 325˚F. for 2 ½ hours. I pulled the dish out of the oven, added some dried apricots and figs, and returned it to the oven to cook uncovered at 500˚F. for another 30 minutes to brown. The ribs by this time were falling off the bone.  Moroccan-Braised Short Ribs I tossed carrots, parsnips, and butternut squash with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, chicken stock (vegetable stock is good as well), cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cayenne and place them in the oven to braise at 375˚F. for about 45 minutes. Then I let the vegetables cook another 20 minutes uncovered so that they could color.  Braise-Roasted Vegetables For dessert, I made the coconut chocolate mousse from The Healthy Hedonist, layered with berry sauce and cashew cream made from cashews blended with coconut milk, maple sugar, and vanilla.  Coconut Chocolate Mousse Parfaits I also made the cakes-in-a-jar for gifts, only this time they were topped off with whipped cream. Thank goodness I had done a test run. (See previous post for how to make these.) They were a hit.  Topped off with Whipped Cream The salad was an herbed watercress and orange blossom vinaigrette salad with roasted beets and was sprinkled with pistachios. This is how a single serving looked.  Watercress, Herb, and Beet Salad All of these dishes stored well and could be made in advance, which was, after all, the whole idea. Share on Facebook and Twitter | desserts, Dinner, Main course, Side Dishes | No comments
Cake-in-a-Jar Next week I am going to be making about 40 cakes-in-a-jar for a catering job, so I spent some time in the kitchen working out the technical challenges. I’ve been having a blast experimenting. These packed jars are not only adorable, they are delicious as well. My version here has chocolate cake, layers of raspberry or strawberry jam, and a thick layer of ganache.  Ready for the Lid I’ve been using pint ball jars, which serve two, and are a good size for gifts. The smaller 1-cup ball jars are perfect for individual servings. First I coat the jars with spray. I rarely use spray fat, but since I’m about to make over 40 cakes, I’m looking to streamline the process. Plus, I just found a coconut oil spray from Spectrum.  First you Prep the Jars Next, I spoon a layer of jam on the bottom. I’ve used strawberry and raspberry jam, for the color as well as the flavor. It’s a treat to dig up with a long spoon the cooked jam under the baked cake.  Dollop a Layer of Jam Use any favorite chocolate cake recipe and fill the containers half full. A cake recipe that makes two layer cakes is perfect for 6 pint-sized jars. I baked the cakes at 350˚ for about 25 minutes. Don’t worry, the jars won’t explode or anything — this is like baking in pyrex. The cakes do take a little less time than when they’re in cake pans, so check on them a little earlier than you might otherwise.  Ready to Bake The cakes emerge from the oven looking like they’ve risen too high, but they settle a lot after a few minutes.  Fresh out of the Oven  After 10 minutes I then added a bit more jam around the top dome to fill in the gap (for 6 cakes you will need a 16-ounce jar) as well as a thick layer of ganache on top. (I flavored my ganache with Chambord.) Keep in mind that the weight of the ganache will eventually sink the cake about an inch. That makes the whole cake compress and taste extra fudgey. The whole concoction tastes like a trifle. Screw on the lid and refrigerate. These are tastiest if you refrigerate them for a couple of hours before eating to let the ganache settle.  Refrigerated Cakes The cakes stay fresh for at least five days. Dig a long spoon in and get all of the layers in each bite. (I feel positively naughty eating these, kind of like I’ve been caught eating out of the jar.)  A Spoonful of Decadence The larger ones are fun to share. Pass the jar around, and dig in. At least it’s not illegal.
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Lamb Merguez Stew I have been making lots of soups and stews this week to give to a friend who is recovering from surgery. The upside is that I’ve had a lot of delicious warming food around as well. This lamb merguez stew was a snap, since I had lamb bone broth in my freezer. Chicken stock, however, would work as well. I purchased the sausage from my favorite lamb farmer, 3-corner-Field farm at the Union Square greenmarket.  Lamb Merguez Stew
I first browned the sausage (about a pound) in a large pot, then removed it and cooked down the liquid. I added ½ cup shallots and sweated those in the small amount of lamb fat left in the pot for about 5 minutes. I then added a 2 ½ pound butternut squash that I had cut into 1-inch cubes, a jar of roasted red peppers, the cooked sausage and about 4 cups stock. I added some salt, covered the pot, and let the stew simmer for about 20 minutes, until the squash was soft. I added a whole head of chopped kale, then cooked the stew another 10 minutes until the kale was tender. Meanwhile, on another burner, in a small skillet, I sautéed some garlic, ginger, and harissa powder for a couple of minutes, then added that to the stew. At the end, I smashed some of the cooked squash against the sides of the pot to thicken the stew. Simple, quick, delicious meal-in-a-pot. Share on Facebook and Twitter | Dinner, Lamb, Lunch, Main course, Soups, Where To Buy (Sources) | No comments
Sunday Night Dinner  Sunday Night Dinner Sunday night was a night for using up those bits and pieces in the refrigerator and freezer. I had some wild salmon from Alaska ready to use that I had defrosted, as well as some toasted fennel seed vinaigrette. I keep a stash of homemade stocks in my freezer: roasted vegetable stock; chicken, fish, lamb, and beef bone broths, so I had instant flavor available to enliven my meal. I defrosted a small bit of vegetable stock. I added the Swiss chard in a small pot with ½ cup or so of vegetable stock, puréed the whole mix, and finished it with a pat of butter. I tossed the salmon in the fennel seed vinaigrette and then baked it at 375˚F. for about 15 minutes, until just pink in the middle. I mixed the sliced carrots and parsnips with a couple tablespoons stock, a couple tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a pinch cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper. I nestled some garlic slices among the vegetables as well. I baked them covered until tender, about 20 minutes, then uncovered them for another 10 minutes until the carrots and parsnips browned. I steamed the cauliflower then sprinkled it with a mix of lemon zest, parsley, and chopped kalamata olives. I served the salmon, cauliflower, and carrot mix on top of the chard puree and tossed some pea shoots in the middle. Share on Facebook and Twitter | Dinner, Greens, ingredients, Recipes, Vegetables | No comments
Young Coconuts and How to Crack Them Coconut water is the liquid found inside a young coconut. Don’t mistake it for coconut milk, which comes from the meat of a mature coconut. In addition to natural sugars, which make it taste deliciously sweet, the water contains a complex array of vitamins and minerals. The nutritious beverage is high in potassium, chlorides, calcium, and magnesium.  Green off of the Tree and Shaved As a tree sap, coconut water is essentially the “blood” of the coconut palm. The electrolyte profile of coconut water is somewhat similar to human plasma and has been used by doctors as an intravenous solution and injected directly into the bloodstream to prevent dehydration. When freshly extracted from the coconut, the liquid is free from germs and parasites. Sure, you can buy the water in packs from the grocery store, but it’s great fun to whack open the fruit yourself. Not to mention that there’s no comparison in the flavor between the fresh and the bottled. Young coconuts are large and green off the tree, but come already shaved in this country, so thankfully, you don’t need a machete to open them. It is not difficult to open these neatly, so that you can drink the water and scoop out the soft gel-like meat. I use a serrated knife to shave around the top part of the coconut. Then I take the heel of a heavy knife. I use a cleaver and whack it a few times. I hold the coconut on an angle, which makes it really safe. The key is to whack the coconut with confidence. After three or four whacks, the lid just lifts off. I can put a straw in this and drink the liquid and use a spoon to scoop out the gel. This is the best sports drink, thirst quencher, and cooler around. The best brand of purchased young coconut products is from exoticsuperfoods.com. You can buy packs of the young meat and bottles of fresh coconut water, which is second only to the ones you crack open yourself.
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